Hydrodynamic bearing



March 13, 1956 A. VON MOHRENSTEIN HYDRODYNAMIC BEARING Filed July 16, 1952 .HYDRODYNAMIC BEARING Alexander ,von Mohrenstein, 'Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, *assignor to the firmKugelfischer Georg Schafer -& 00., Schweinfurt, Germany, a German company Application July 1 1952, Serial No. 299,183

'10'Claims. c1. 308-73) {the :hithr-to known hydrodynamic bearings for srotating ior;slid ingrmembers in which there is a layer .of

,lubricating. liquid between :a rotating shaft or sliding member on the o e :hand and a bearing upp 1 {the nether, the space for .the reception ofqthelubricant ihas beemgiven a fixed and predetermined shape, foroexample of gwedgezlike ,form. In zmany cases this space was bounded by two arcuate surfaces.

All suchbearings, in which the lubricantspace has a fixedand pre-determinedpshape, have only a small :sup-

porting power, ,because the accuracy :of manufacture ;and ;therefore .thenninimum height'of the lubricant space is United States Patent O ice @Patented Mar. 13, 1956 -.ti.al1y .ires nred- Bathe supporting member :has ssutficient elasticity, r1116 distribution of the load and therefore also the contour or shape ;nf ;th.e;lubri cant in the-gap is not substantially altered.- Also, the liner has sufiicient e t ci y, deformations :and ,errors in the shape of the slidin surface, due, yfor example, ;to bending .of the shaft or 10 the ,shaft :having an elliptical shape, do not :afiect theshape of the lubricant gap :since they. arecompensated ,f or relatively; small and n gligible .elastic deformations of .111 s pporting member. Theelasticity lis sutfieient =-in im st gracfical cases if the total deformation of 1 the :sup-

porting amembernndenthe load isabout3 0.-1.mm; ,or less,

and in bearings of greatipre'cision :it may .eygnbe iqnly In .most practical casessit is advantageous ;to rkeeprthe pressure constant n'na direction transverse togthezdirection in which the trictionjacts ,on'thehearing. "There :isgthen no pressure gradient in this direction and therefore the lubricant .does not gflowttowards athe. .sides of the :1 bearing.

At theedge of the supportingmernber the .pressureton .the lubricant in gany-case should :be zcqualg to zero. :Qwing to the elasticity of the supporting member its edges are ,in .contact =7Withthcsliding surface :and Prevent .the .out-

.limited. Further, almostalways the relative movement 3 sof theurotatingshaft or qsliding member and the bearing .support can take place :only vjin a definite direction as, :for

texatnplainthecase ofthe movementsof a shaftrotating in ia-fclockwise, sense. I

' {These disadvantages.areyobviated byrthe present inventiont in which, in -a hydrodynamic bearing; having-sat least OIIeSlIPPOILiQgOI bearing-member, thelatter is "elastic and lies closeiagainstgthesliding or rotating surfacewhen the.slidi-ngwsurface is ;at rest, and the;load is distributed ..a1ong: the .bearin-gsurface insuch a mannenthat itcisa maximum in the centre .andyzeroat both ends, and when in operation, .a thin .film of. lubricant forms between the sliding or. rotatingsurfaces andthe supporting member. "'Iheload may then preferably be distributed along the surface of the bearingtin accordance witha curve having the form of anisesceles triangle.

flhefhydrodynamic supporting power; of such. azbearing 'is an optimum because, if the,above mentionedeonditions iare..maintained,-.,the form of the lubricant space vis a flow of lubricant at this place. The width of the-regions of disturbance at ,these edges amounts .pnlywto ;a' new thousandths .of amillirnetre which needynotibe :taken into account, In the vrer iainirig regions in which friction V Qficl rs .,.there a strictly two-dimensional lubricating solution ,ofwthe corresponding. variationvproblem, :as :is

hereinafter ae iplained in greater detail. 7Eurther, the bear'ingin accordancewith the invention operates equally well. inhothfldirections, that is to say, it; can t be: used both "for shafts rotating in .any direction and :forymembers making. ,stra;ight-line reciprocating movements. ,The bear- .jiugruau thus .be. used with .anysliding surface.

'lTI'he ';film :ofg lubricant. ,Produeed .in the ;-bearing ot thejinventiouonwhich the supporting member orxbearin'g .linergfloats in "the .operating condition; has,:fhowevei',

;.not.,on1Y a maximum hydrodynamic supporting-power necessary; to1eranceslfortheshapeof the. bearing-,and of 'the' sliding surfacejare increased many times. .Thusif one part ofthe supporting or resilient rnemberris worn, ;.the mateiialis altered-in shape by the elasticfforces.anttthus v stonowi equation holds I good:

process' For this 'the known equation of lleynolds holds .soo

'In this equation x is .the cozordinate inthe direetion "of mam. p. the pressure, :97 the .viscos ty, U the;rt l a ti\;e

velocity of'the' hearing ,to the moving surface, 1 th height offth'e lubricantgap, hothe height of thedubricant gap at .thepoinLof makiinum press ure.

in' e v lfiquat n L n rt s m caseptand ..dp(:r)

. .da: g are the known functions, and h (;c) is', the v,fI.1ncti )n required. 'For the :value "ho for any' value of p(.x the seem/G ta) 1. v r F i a t ifi entfl ad g, th iunc i us 2( and only-Adifier in'scal'q-fthat is to say theyare only ntuitisplied by a factor. 'Consequently,theiunetiQnhtx), too,

:mdicates sthevmaximum value of the; pressure 1 gradient on *ithe supporting rmember.

on'ly altersin scale. -above-mentioned maximum supporting power, ,are thereifore' maintaine'd. I

In-"the Equation 2-the expression Al pmpe ti s fo exampl th dw mu *If, for example; the elastic tpressure ton zthe front-edge-of the supporting member "the ori'ginal' -hape "of the supporting member... is. Substanadifiers from' z ero, the pressure inthe lubricant must suddenlyiincrease at thisplace from zero 1 1p to'this pr essure valuehThe'svalue this ease .and according to :Equat- G1 ge s ythcreforemo liquidf friction,is; ,-pos sihle.

-. It is easy to obtain any form of pressure curve and therefore any desired form of lubricant gap. In this case a definite length of the supporting member is assumed and the form of the lubricant gap with which the supporting member carries the maximum load has then to be found. In doing so, the average he or the minimum height hmin of the lubricant gap have to be considered as given. The optimum shape of the lubricant gap is not of as much practical interest as the form of the pressure curve corresponding to it. Only the practically important case of symmetrical pressure curves will be considered, because in this case the supporting member will operate equally well in both directions. The answer to this problem isthat the pressure curve must have the form of an isosceles triangle which has already been mentioned as one of the features of this invention.

Further features of the invention will be clear from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing. The drawing illustrates an example of a bearing in accordance with the invention, and

in it Figure 1 is an axial section through the bearing taken on the line a--b of Figure 2,

Figure 2 is an end elevation partly in section of the bearing,

Figure 3 is a detail view on a larger scale of a part of Figure 2,

Figures 4, and 6 show diagrammatically the action of the elastic supporting member when the shaft is at rest (Fig. 4), when it is rotating in a clockwise sense (Fig. 5) and when the shaft is rotating in an anti-clockwise sense (Fig. 6).

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the numeral 1 indicates the outer ring of the bearing and the numeral 2 a loaddistributing member which carries the load and forms with intermediate pieces 4 a load distribution means, said distributing member 2 and intermediate pieces 4 constituting relatively movable members. Member 2 has structural deformations such as notches formed in one side thereof. The numeral 3 represents a liner or layer of elastic material, for example of plastic material, constituting a resilient bearing member of about 1 mm. thickness. The two intermediate pieces 4 have complementary structural deformations such as pointed extremities which form prism joints with the notches on the pressure-distributing member 2, the pointed ends or extremities engaging the corresponding notches in said distributing member. The angle formed by the sides of each of said pointed extremities is smaller than that of the corresponding notch in distributing member 2, thus forming a pivotal connection between said intermediate pieces 4 and said distributing member 2 and permitting limited rotational movement of said pieces relative to said distributing member. The numeral 5 designates a shaft which may rotate in either direction. The free spaces within the outer ring are filled with porous material 6, for example of felt. This material collects the oil which is pressed out towards the sides by the pieces 4 and transfers it by capillary action to the surface of the shaft. The outer ring 1 is preferably made in two parts for facilitating manufacture. A layer of packing or sealing material 7, for example of rubber, is interposed between the two parts.

In Figure 3, the part enclosed in a circle in Figure 2 is illustrated on a larger scale. The adjacent edges of the two intermediate pieces 4 which face the layer 3 enclose the packing strip 8 which is introduced during manufacture to prevent the escape of the still liquid chemical components of layer 3 prior to its solidification.

In the Figures 46, the elastic layer or liner 3 is diagrammatically represented as a series of springs which press against a thin flexible sheet. The layer or liner 3 shown in this manner corresponds to the elastic liner 3 of Figures 1-3. Figures 4-6 also show the pressure curve p(x) which has the form of an isosceles triangle. Regard- 4 less of the direction of rotation of the shafts 5 there are formed between the layer 3 and the surface of the shaft 5 layers of oil such that the pressure curve retains its shape of an isosceles triangle.

The outer ring 1, the pressure-distributing member 2 and the intermediate pieces 4 can be made of steel and can be hardened. The layer 3 can consist of a phenolor cresol-formaldehyde condensation product or of hard paper. The shaft 5 may be made of any suitable material. It must be highly polished. In general, however, its diameter and shape need not be extremely accurate. The jointed construction of the intermediate pieces 4 in cooperation on the one hand with the load distributor 2 and on the other hand with the elastic liner 3 enables the bearing to adapt itself to all unevennesses in the shaft.

The bearing should operate with the layer of lubricant having a thickness of 2-5 microns; then the thickness of the layer of oil behind each support consisting of the parts 2, 3 and 4 is approximately half as thick as the average thickness of the hydrodynamic lubricating layer below the said support. Such a thin free layer or film of oil has very strong capillary properties. On contact, it draws the oil with great power from the porous filling 6 of the bearing.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. A hydrodynamic bearing comprising at least one bearing unit including an outer ring member, at least one load distributing member defined by an outer surface of a larger curvature than the inner surface of said outer ring member with which said distributing member makes contact, said distributing member being further defined by an inner surface provided with two notches having walls diverging toward the axis of said bearing, adjacent walls of said notches converging toward said axis, intermediate means provided with pointed ends shaped for engagement with said notches, respectively, said intermediate means being constructed to permit limited rotational movement relative to said notches, an elastic liner in contact with said intermediate means and remote from said notches, a packing element placed between said intermediate means and supported by said liner, and means extending laterally supported within said outer ring member of said bearing unit and adapted to supply said bearing unit with lubricant, the axis of said bearing substantially coinciding with the axis of a shaft, when the latter is engaged by said bearing unit.

2. A hydrodynamic bearing for a shaft comprising at least one bearing unit including an outer ring member, at least one load distributing member defined by an outer surface of a larger curvature than the inner surface of said outer ring member with which said distributing member makes contact, said distributing member being further defined by an inner surface provided with two notches, said notches being bounded by walls diverging toward the axis of said bearing, walls of said notches positioned adjacent each other converging toward said axis, intermediate means provided with ends shaped for engagement with said notches, respectively, and constituting prism joint means, said prism joint means being constructed to permit limited rotational movement of said intermediate means relative to said notches, elastic liner means in contact with said intermediate means and located remote from said prism joint means, and means supported within said outer ring member of said bearing unit and adapted to supply said bearing unit with lubricant whereby said liner means upon movement of said shaft and when in contact with a lubricant is deformed to thereby maintain substantially the same relative distribution of pressure along a portion of said shaft opposite said liner means as when said shaft is at rest.

3. A bearing having an outer ring member and at least one resilient bearing member, said bearing member being positionable close to and in conforming relation with the surface of a shaft when said bearing is mounted thereon, load distribution means intermediate said resilient bearing member and said outer ring member, said distribution means comprising'a plurality of relatively movable members, at least one of said movable members contacting said outer ring member and 'at least another one of said movable members contacting said resilient bearing member, whereby pressure exerted by a load will be at a maximum in the middle of said bearing member and zero at both ends thereof, and lubricant supply means disposed adjacent said distribution means for maintaining a lubricant film between the surface of the shaft when located in said bearing and said bearing member during operation of said shaft.

4. A bearing in accordance with claim 3, there being a lubricant gap formed between said resilient bearing member and the surface of said shaft when said shaft is located in said bearing, the shape of said gap being chosen so that said distribution means is adapted to coact with said shaft to thereby produce a pressure which follows a curve in'the form of an isosceles triangle, the base of which triangle is commensurate with the length of said resilient bearing member.

5. A bearing in accordance with claim 3, in which said resilient bearing member comprises a strip of artificial material of about 1 mm. thickness, said material being a condensation product of formaldehyde and a phenol.

6. A bearing according to claim 5, said load distribution means including two intermediate pieces in contact with said strip.

7. A bearing according to claim 6, said load distribution means further including a load distributing member, said intermediate pieces and said distributing member being pivotally connected by means of prism joints.

8. A bearing according to claim 7, said lubricant supply means comprising a lubricant absorbent material supported within said outer ring member adjacent said distribution means.

9. A bearing according to claim 7, including a packing strip enclosed between adjacent edges of said two intermediate pieces.

10. A hearing comprising at least one bearing unit including an outer ring member, at least one load distributing member defined by an outer surface of a larger curvature than the inner surface of said outer ring member with which said distributing member makes contact, said distributing member being further defined by an inner surface provided with at least one deformation, intermediate means provided with at least one complementary deformation facing said deformation on said distributing member and shaped for engagement therewith, one of said deforma tions being smaller than the other to permit limited relative rotational movement between said distributing member and said intermediate means, an elastic liner in contact with said intermediate means and remote from said deformations, said liner being adapted to come in contact with the surface of a shaft when said bearing is mounted thereon, a packing element placed adjacent said intermediate means and supported by said liner, and means supported within the outer ring member of said bearing unit and adapted to supply said bearing unit with lubricant.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,161,721 Parsons Nov. 23, 1915 2,538,746 Dall Jan. 23, 1951 2,592,229 Alexay Apr. 8, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 638,113 Great Britain May 31, 1950 

